Religious Secularity

A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State

Naser Ghobadzadeh

Description

"Fundamentalism" and "authoritarian secularism" are commonly perceived as the two mutually exclusive paradigms available to Muslim majority countries. Recent political developments, however, have challenged this perception. Formerly associated with a fundamentalist outlook, mainstream Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Nahda, have adopted a distinctly secular-democratic approach to the state re-building process. Their success or failure in transitioning to democracy remains to be seen, but the political position these Islamic groups have carved out suggests the viability of a third way.

Naser Ghobadzadeh examines the case of Iran, which has a unique history with respect to the relationship of religion and politics. The country has been subject to both authoritarian secularization and authoritarian Islamization over the last nine decades. While politico-religious discourse in Iran is articulated in response to the Islamic state, it also bears the scars of Iran's history of authoritarian secularization-the legacy of the Pahlavi regime. Ghobadzadeh conceptualizes this politico-religious discourse as "religious secularity". He uses this apparent oxymoron to describe the Islamic quest for a democratic secular state, and he demonstrates how this concept encapsulates the complex characteristics of the Shiite religious reformation movement.

Religious Secularity

A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State

Naser Ghobadzadeh

Author Information

Naser Ghobadzadeh is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Justice, the Australian Catholic University (ACU). Researching the intersection of religion and politics, his interests lie in the study of Islamic political theology, secularism, state-religion-society relations, and Middle East and Iranian politics.

He holds a Ph.D. (University of Sydney, 2012) and an M.A. in Political Science (Shahid Beheshti University, Iran 2001). He has also worked as editor-in-chief of the foreign policy service at the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), communication officer with the UNDP and head of the Information Resource Centre (IRC), UNICEF office in Tehran. Naser has authored two books in Persian language, including A Study of People's Divergence from theRuling System (2002) and The Caspian Sea: Legal regime, neighbouring countries and US policies (2005). His articles have been published in internationally refereed journals such as Democratization, Philosophy and Social Criticism, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics and Discourse.

Religious Secularity

A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State

Naser Ghobadzadeh

Reviews and Awards

"An authoritative and highly persuasive innovative Shia alternative to the clerical Islamic state. Ghobazadeh's systematic documentation of an authoritative critique of Khomeini's doctrine of Velayat-e-Faqih from within the Shia tradition can be inspiring and instructive for proponents of similar strategies in the Sunni Muslim world." --Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, author of Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Sharia (2008)

"This is a path-breaking book that seeks a middle way between Islamism and assertive secularism. Ghobadzadeh reveals how several Iranian intellectuals and even influential members of the Shiite clergy have opposed the semi-theocratic regime in Iran. Such theological arguments about the necessity of an institutional separation between Islam and the state are hard to find in any other book." --Ahmet T. Kuru, the author of Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey

"This book is a valuable contribution to the global debate on Islam and democracy. By focusing on the concept of 'religious secularity,' Naser Ghobadzadeh deepens our understanding of how Islamic politics continues to evolve based on the lived experiences of Muslim societies, rather than on some medieval essence. Students and scholars interested in the intersection of religion and politics will benefit from the author's argument and ideas." --Nader Hashemi, Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver